A young woman died and 10 people were injured in what one witness described as a stampede at a nightclub.

Nabila Nanfuka, 22, from Neasden, north-west London, fell amid chaotic scenes at the Lava Ignite club in Northampton early on Wednesday , during a dance music event involving up to 1,300 students from universities across the UK. She was a third-year student in leisure and tourism at Northampton University.

Two other women remain critically ill in intensive care and at least eight people were treated for minor injuries following the incident. Police said the injuries were all thought to be the result of crushing.

Her family described her yesterday as "one in a million" and a "beautiful person". Speaking outside the family home, her younger brother Fahad Msimbe said his sister was his "best friend".

Msimbe said: "She affected so many people's lives and put other people first.

"She is one in a million really … I still haven't come to terms with the fact she has passed away, it still hasn't sunk in.

"She was a really beautiful person in every way. She was really interested in the leisure and tourism industry, but she didn't have a specific role that she wanted to take when she finished [university].

"My mother is torn apart. She is finding it difficult like most mothers would."

Emergency services said they were called to the club shortly after 3.30am. Superintendent Andy Cox of Northamptonshire police told a press conference that officers would be looking at CCTV footage from inside and outside the club and investigating whether the fire alarm system was activated.

Superintendent Cox He said officers were aware of there had been a large number of people in attendance inside the club and that police were working with the club, the organisers of the nightevent, local authorities and the emergency services to piece together exactly what had happened as part of their investigation into the incident.

The nightclub will remain closed while an investigation is carried out. There would be an increased police presence in Northampton town centre on Wednesday night to reassure residents, he added.

The event, called DNA Presents Wickedest Wickedest, started at 9pm on Tuesday and had been due to go on until 4am.

James Adetula, 21, from London, who knew Nabila Nanfuka, said an announcement had encouraged the clubbers towards the venue's exits.

"It was 'everybody the coaches are leaving, make your way to the exits', so everyone went for the exits," he said. "The next minute, the fire alarm went off and everyone started panicking. There was obviously a stampede of people in there when the fire alarm went off."

Uche Chukwu, the founder and editor of urban magazine Pappzd, said contributors at the event knew Nabila. The magazine's website reported: "A young and promising Northampton University student, Nabila Nanfuka, was trampled to death as clubgoers stampeded for the doors to exit a nightclub on Tuesday night. Fights began to break out causing crowds to rush out of Lava Ignite leading to a stampede."

In a statement, Lava Ignite said: "We can confirm that tragically one person died and two people were injured at the Lava Ignite nightclub in Northampton last night at approximately 3.30am.

"The club management and staff are co-operating fully with the local police to find out exactly what happened.

"Our thoughts are with the family of those involved at this time."

David Palethorpe, leader of Northampton borough council, said: "This is a terrible tragedy and we have the deepest sympathy for the families of everyone involved. As the licensing authority, we will of course play our part to support the police investigation in every way we can."

A statement on the nightclub's website said the venue would be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. The university of Northampton said it was speaking with police.

Brian Binley, the Conservative MP for Northampton South, expressed sorrow and said he was calling for a public inquiry to find out what had happened.

Later a spokesman for Northampton council said it had been formally approached by police and would hold a summary review to consider the premises licence for Lava and Ignite. A special sub-committee of the licensing panel will meet to consider evidence put forward by the police and decide what action to take.

The spokesman said the sub-committee, led by council members, will review evidence and could take a number of actions. These could include imposing new conditions on the licence or suspending the premises' licence for an temporary period, pending a full review.

The spokesman said it is only police who are able to have a licence instantly reviewed and the process is initiated when they approach the council with concerns about a premises and, in the case of Lava and Ignite, because of a loss of life.

The spokesman said he could not anticipate the outcome of the hearing, which is also known as an expedited or emergency review under Section 53 of the Licensing Act 2003, but did expect a full review to be held in due course.

He added it was not known if club owners or representatives would be at tomorrow's hearing.